Eternally Changeless
by Kurensai
Summary: Kaoru is forced to kill a man in self defense, but when that man's brother comes back, his revenge nearly kills her, and Kenshin swears revenge. Thus he slowly begins to return to Hitokiri Battousai. R for violence and language. R&R, everyone!


Yo Everyone! I'm back with yet another Battousai/Kaoru fic! I'm enjoying writing this one, and I hope you'll all enjoy reading it! Anyway, here it is.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Rurouni Kenshin except this story. Don't sue.  
  
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Eternally Changeless by Battousai1235  
  
Through the rain, she could see him coming at her. She turned, tried to run. She reached the end of the street, turned, and was knocked to the ground. He sat on her stomach, crushing the air out of her, and pinning her to the street. He pulled out a small knife, lowered it to her kimono. She saw a sick grin on his face.  
  
She screamed in protest and hit him across the face as hard as she could. He yelled in pain and the knife clattered away across the stone. He snarled and lunged off of her, toward the small weapon. She grabbed his leg and he fell down. She scrambled past him, closed her fingers around the handle of the knife, and spun to face him. He was coming down on her. There was only one thing to do.  
  
Closing her eyes, she jabbed upward, felt the blade puncture his skin, felt his warm blood splash out onto her hands. She pulled the blade out of him, but he was still alive. His hands were flailing all over. His fingers grabbed at her hair, clothes, face, breasts, and arms. Panicking, she pushed the knife into him again, and again, until she was drenched in blood and he was dead. The limp body fell onto her, and she struggled to get out from under it.  
  
Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the rain and the blood. Sobbing, she pulled herself up against one of the buildings along the road. She had not fully understood what she had done yet. She couldn't think; couldn't see; couldn't breathe. She hunched over, retched violently. She could taste bitter bile in her throat. She curled up on her side, trying to shut out the night around her. She heard a shout, but didn't look up. Again. She still gave no response. Finally, the person was right beside her, and she realized who it was.  
  
"Kaoru-dono, what happened?" She looked up, saw his face, and threw herself at Kenshin, just before falling completely unconscious.  
  
* * * * *  
  
She awoke in her room. The sunlight was pouring in through the window. She sat up and looked around, momentarily disoriented. Then she remembered...  
  
Waving at Kenshin...walking down the road...the rain starting...a shout...the man coming toward her...running through the rain...he was getting so close... knocking her to the ground...trying to cut off her kimono...knocking the knife away...then...then...  
  
'I killed him.'  
  
Throwing open the rice paper door, dashing off the porch, running to the edge of the yard, she hunched over and finally threw up. After emptying her stomach of the previous night's dinner, she stumbled back to the porch on shaky legs and sat on its edge. She pulled her legs to her chest and put her head between her knees.  
  
'I killed him.'  
  
"Kaoru?" She looked up. Yahiko was standing nearby, a surprised look on his face. "Kaoru? Are you okay?" She shook her head. "What happened? Kenshin said..."  
  
"Yahiko-chan, not now. I need to be alone." She rose quickly and walked away from him. He scratched his head before returning to his chores.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kenshin was puttering in the kitchen and humming a song when Kaoru entered. He turned around and stared for a moment before moving toward her.  
  
"Kaoru-dono...last night...do not feel guilt for what happened. There was nothing else you could have done." She pushed away from him and faced the wall. He placed a hand on her shaking shoulder and put gentle pressure on it, so that she reluctantly turned to face him. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face up to look into his eyes. "Listen to me. You did what you had to do. I know how it feels to kill a person. But you can't let it ruin your life."  
  
"I'm not, Kenshin. It's just..."  
  
"It's just that you wish there had been another way. I know. That is what I feel, every day I live in this Meiji Era. But there was no other way. And the same is true for you. Your life was at stake. You could not have survived had you waited for another way."  
  
"Kenshin, you don't understand. All my life, I've been taught Katsujin-ken, to use a sword that gives life, not death. You know that my father taught his students how to kill, because he knew that it wasn't right. But now that I've killed a person, how can I ever teach anyone a style of Katsujin-ken? It would mean nothing coming from a murderer such as me." Kenshin sighed.  
  
"Kaoru-dono, you are not a murderer. You killed him only as a last resort and in self-defense. You must stop blaming yourself for this right now. Do it, as a favor to me." He gave her a warm smile. She returned his with a weak one.  
  
"I-I'll try, Kenshin. Thanks."  
  
"It's my pleasure, Kaoru-dono. However, now that we've spoken, I need to run to town and pick up some food for dinner. Will you be all right here by yourself?" She nodded.  
  
"I think I will, now. Just hurry back." She laughed, and he did as well.  
  
"Okay then. I will return shortly."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Yahiko was sweeping the main walk of the dojo when the gates were pushed open. He looked up. Five men were standing there, each carrying a sword.  
  
"What do you want?" Yahiko asked sharply. The first of the men took a step forward.  
  
"We seek Kamiya Kaoru. Where is she?" Yahiko narrowed his eyes, knowing this meant trouble.  
  
"She isn't here right now. She went into town to...uh...shop for dinner." Just then, they heard Kaoru shouting across the dojo.  
  
"Yahiko?! Who is it?" Yahiko slowly looked back at the first man, who had a terrible smirk on his face. The hilt of his katana suddenly came rushing at Yahiko's face, and he was out cold.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kaoru was about to get up and see who Yahiko was talking to when the doors burst inwards. She fell on her butt and winced in pain.  
  
"Kamiya Kaoru?" She looked up to the speaker. He was pointing his katana straight at her face. Slowly, she nodded.  
  
"What is it?" she asked. His foot flew forward, catching her in the jaw. Kaoru was almost lifted off the floor by the impact. She rolled backwards, choking on her blood. The man stepped toward her, and his four companions spread out around her.  
  
"You killed my little brother," growled the biggest man. "We've come to give you payback. But—" and he kicked her in the chest, causing her to scream in pain and collapse onto the floor again. "—but we aren't gonna kill you today. We're just gonna give you a taste of what's gonna happen later on." One of the others jerked her to her feet and pulled out a small dagger. He wrenched her head backwards and pushed the blade against her neck. Then he slowly brought it downward, cutting through her kimono, just as the man had tried to do the previous night.  
  
"Please..." she begged. "Don't..."  
  
"Oh, it's not what you think," laughed the man cruelly. "It's much, much worse." And he pulled back his fist.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kenshin was whistling when he walked into the dojo. Shutting the gates behind him, he turned and was startled to see Yahiko lying on the ground in front of him. He ran to the boy, rolled him onto his back, and tried to get a response out of him.  
  
"Yahiko! Yahiko, can you hear me?!" He shook him, but still Yahiko didn't reply. Kenshin then realized that if Yahiko had been injured, Kaoru was most certainly...  
  
Sprinting into the sparring room, Kenshin was stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Kaoru. She was tied against the wall, naked, bloody, and barely conscious. He gave an inhuman wail and dashed to her. Drawing his sakabatou and using the blade to cut her bindings, he caught her gently as she fell to the floor.  
  
"Kaoru-dono? Kaoru, speak to me, please!" She murmured something He put his ear to her mouth. She was speaking very quietly, but he could make out the words "I'm sorry." He slowly picked her up to carry her to a futon.  
  
"You shouldn't be sorry for anything, Kaoru-dono. None of this is your fault." It was lucky that she was keeping her eyes closed, because if she had seen the look on his face, she would have been terrified beyond anything she had felt before. His face was twisted into a scowl, eyes narrowed, teeth bared. His eyes were slowly turning to the amber color that marked the change from the peaceful, gentle rurouni into the feared, hated, and incredibly dangerous Hitokiri, Himura Battousai.  
  
"Yes, do not feel sorry, Kaoru-dono. They will pay for this. With their lives."  
  
That's all for now. Kenshin seems pretty pissed...maybe he'll turn back into Battousai? Well, you'll have to read the next chapter to find out. Please review, so I know what to do! Thanks!!! 


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